Once upon a time there was a nine year old boy in Virginia who wanted a Camaro. His father wanted to teach the boy about work ethics and "character" so he told the boy that whatever amount of money the boy saved by the age of 16 that he would match it to purchase a car. The boy took this to heart and knew that one day he was not going to get just a car, but a Camaro!

For the next seven years the boy saved his money. While all of the other children were buying radios, record players, albums, guitars, amps, baseball and football cards, the boy put all of his money in the bank. From weed pulling to dog sitting, to baby sitting, to lawn mowing, the boy worked harder and harder. While the other kids swam in the lake and went to the pool, the boy mowed yards from sun up to sun down in the hot summers. The money was growing and so were the temptations to spend it; from mopeds to dirt bikes to loud home stereos with 3 ft. tall speakers to gifts for girls and leather jackets, but the boy stayed true to the vision of one day having a Camaro and every penny was saved.

At the age of 15, the boy had $3,550 and he began to look for the car that he had been dreaming about for as long as he could remember. His father was proud of his son, surprised/shocked at how much the boy had saved and had his own thoughts on an appropriate vehicle. In addition to wanting his son to have a strong work ethic and "character" the father also wanted his son to "appreciate the value of a dollar" and could not imagine a 16 year old boy having a $7,100 vehicle. The father believed that a 16 year old boy only needed a vehicle that would "get him from Point A to Point B." The boy wanted to go from "Point A to Point B IN STYLE!" Fortunately, the boy's mother had a 57 Chevy Bel Air as a teen that she raced up and down the streets of Florida.

The boy looked at every Camaro for sale everywhere for months and then one day he saw her and fell in love for the first time .... she was dark gray, two years old (1982) and complete with T-roofs and window louvers. After some significant negotiations (I am sure that there was some pleading and graveling that the boy would not admit to today) the seller finally agreed to sell her for $7,100. The boy's father still do not approve of such a car for 16 year old boy but he had to live up to his word. The father called the seller and told him that he would buy the car for $7,000 and not a penny more. Having already come down to the $7,100, take pity on the poor teenager price, the seller refused and held firm at the $7,100 price and further added that it was only good through the weekend. The father held firm and the boys first love was slipping away and he had not even had the chance to drive her yet.

The boy pleaded with his father to pay the extra $100 but instead of giving in the father took the opportunity to teach the boy about "principal". The boy was blinded by love and did not care about "principal", did not care about $100 and knew that there was only one thing that could be done to break the stalemate between the seller and his father. So the boy, thinking more like a man, called the seller and made a deal. He told the seller that if he would please accept the father's offer of $7,000 that the boy would secretly place $100 in the seller's mailbox. The seller agreed, the boy placed the $100 in the mailbox, the father only paid $7,000 for the car (not a penny more) and the dream of Camaro ownership became a reality.

The first picture here is of the boy, his mother and his first love. Note that it is still in pristine condition even after 2 years of high school and 4 years of college! The last picture is of the father and the Camaro after the move to Hartford, CT in 1990. The Camaro and the boy had to part ways when the Connecticut winter came along and at the gentle touch of her gas pedal she spun in circles or just sprayed snow all over the other cars behind her without moving forward.

Flashing forward 22 years (2012) the boy, now a man with with 4 teenage boys, still longed for his first love. So after shopping for cars every night for years and making sure that all of the boys had their first loves (they include a 2000 "Foose" Mustang GT convertible and a 2002 Firebird convertible both pictured here), he decided to stop living vicariously through his children and find his 3rd true love (the second is his wife who you will meet in a minute). The man really enjoyed driving his boys' convertibles and riding around with his wife with the muscle under his foot and the wind blowing in his face.

Confession Time - The boy, now the man, is actually me so from here on out I will refer to me as "I". My name is Steve and my wonderful wife's name is Melinda.

In April of 2012, I went to a local dealer in Kansas City and stumbled upon a Callaway convertible Camaro. A great looking car that was Red Jewel on the outside and black on the inside. The salesman took Melinda and I for the test drive of a lifetime and I knew that this was the vehicle for me. I could tell that Melinda loved it as well and at that moment redefined the word "threesome" to mean me, my wife and a Camaro we both love!

Some of the options weren't exactly right about this particular Camaro and the negotiations with the dealer did not work out. Being a believer in destiny and that everything happens for a reason, I continued to look and at the end of May I found her. She was simply beautiful. She was located in Alabama and was sitting on the showroom floor just waiting for me to come and get her. So after a brief negotiation with the dealership owner and him asking if I could be in Alabama by the end of the month (3 days) to pick her up and my replying "Oh yeah!" I called Melinda. It was a simple question, "Have you ever been to Alabama?" A few days later we were getting off a plane in Birmingham with an overnight bag and a radar detector.

Please allow me to introduce you to my newest love who I bought site unseen which for me is very very much out of character. The only thing I had to go on were the following pictures that were posted on the internet. She does not have a name like other Camaros on this forum. I have thought about naming her but every time I look at her to come up with a name I am speechless.

So Melinda and I arrived in Alabama, hitched a ride to the dealership, signed up for 72 months of interest free payments and began the journey home with our new baby and Permagrins. Here we are picking her up at the dealership.

So Melinda and I arrived in Alabama, hitched a ride to the dealership, signed up for 72 months of interest free payments and began the journey home with our new baby and Permagrins. Here we are picking her up at the dealership.

Somewhere amidst the rebel flags in Arkansas Melinda and I stopped at a very small eatery that looked more like an indoor concession stand and we shared a banana split. About halfway through our ice cream a man walked in, looked at me and said, "Do you own that there Camaro out there?" My heart sank into my stomach as the thought of a dent in my new baby flashed before my eyes. I managed to say "yes" and was immediately relieved when the man asked if he could take a picture with her. It turns out that our new baby is a true head turner and conversation piece. It was a two day trip home to Kansas City and we made a lot of new friends on the road and heard many many stories about random people's cars, lives, fishing and whatever topic they wanted to share as they stood admiring our new baby. I thought I knew about my latest purchase until I was thrown by a loop with questions such as, "I sell spark plugs. What kind of plugs you got in there?" Apparently I have a lot more to learn.

We stopped at the White River Inn in Arkansas (thanks to Moose and Tina for the great hospitality for Melinda, me and the Camaro) to spend the night and our baby had her first photo shoot. Here are the pictures. We had to go on a dirt road for the last half mile and we went no more than 5 miles per hour despite our being ready to settle in after a long day of driving.

The next day we drove straight to Kansas City and straight to a local dealership to begin the mods! After listening to (and making Melinda listen to) what felt like 50 different exhaust sounds we decided on the Borla Atak system. This combined with adding GM ground effects all around happened the first week of June. The following weekend she made her debut at a local cruise night. Maybe a bit premature but I wanted her to get comfortable and she had a lot of people stopping to take a look.

Melinda now refers to the Camaro as my mid-life crisis and asked me when she can get hers. My reply to her is that she is younger than I am and has a longer life expectancy so she needs to wait for a few years.

I have a very long wish list of mods and am trying to pace myself. Last week I found a painter and had him, Carlos, black out the front and rear side markers, the front bowtie and the taillights. Wanting to make sure that our baby is unique, I decided to add a bowtie to the inner taillights by not having Carlos paint the whole lens. Probably would have been better if the lenses had been clear vs. the RS trim dark lenses but I like how it turned out. After the ground effects and exhaust were added I loved the Borla Atak sound but was disappointed in the look of not having any chrome tips. I was told that the chrome bezel exhaust openings were the intended look of the ground effects. As you can see, I did not buy that so I had them powder coated black and added chrome tips.

Wow, just stumbled onto this thread. Beautiful Wife, Camaro and story...
Livin' the dream and having fun while doing it. Glad you are enjoying your new addition so much and thanks for sharing such a great story and pictures. Looks like it has been in your blood all along...